Dr Mohammad Al-Onaizi

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: The General Coordinator and Spokesperson for the Association of Faculty Members at Kuwait University Dr Mohammed Al-Onaizi called on the Cabinet’s COVID-19 Emergency Committee to value the importance of continuing the educational process on campus, especially for secondary and higher education stages as well as universities, in order to preserve the quality of education.

In a press statement, Dr Onaizi confirmed that the association is calling for the interest of education in Kuwait to be taken into account, especially after online education showed significant drawbacks on the educational outcomes and quality.

Dr Onaizi confirmed that the association is following up on the latest developments related to the emerging coronavirus variant (Omicron) at the local and international levels, indicating that most countries around the world have not taken steps to return to online education.

“We appeal to our decision makers to bear in mind that the quality of education was compromised during the previous shift from traditional learning to online due to many reasons. To address this, we need to integrate a validated online-based curriculum with the current curriculum and get both the student and teacher to adapt to the new curriculum. All of this must be tailored to the Kuwait education system and requires research and proper planning. We are therefore advocating for the continuation of in-person classes so that the educational process will not be compromised again,” he said.

Amid a rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the country, celebrations for birthdays, weddings and anniversaries have been called off from today until February 28, as per an order by the government to suspend all indoor social gatherings. The decision triggered cancellations of numerous events and activities scheduled for January and February, including programs related to Hala February.

Kuwait has also urged its citizens to leave several European countries including Britain, France and Germany because of a surge in cases of the Omicron variant. In a series of statements last week, the state also warned Kuwaitis to avoid travelling to these countries. The foreign ministry said they should “delay their trips” generally and, in particular, to France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy, later adding Turkey, Cyprus and Morocco to the list.